Kaylee
by foxy209
Summary: To realize her feelings, a little girl has to come in and bring Tony and Ziva together. Build up to major Tiva. A tiny bit OOC (Out of Character)
1. The Girl With the Gun

**Disclaimer: I know it sucks for all NCIS fans, but mot everyone can own it. I am one of those people who can't. :( On with the story now.**

* * *

"NCIS! Open up!"

Ziva heard the crack of the door as Special Agent Tony DiNozzo kicked it in. Both at once, Ziva and Tony stormed in, and it wasn't long before Tony held up Ziva and put a finger to his lips. With a notion somebody was home, he continued on, "There was a complaint called in- he stopped and raised his hand once again, listening one more time, sure he had heard something- Hello? Come out with your hands up." They drew their guns but were surprised to see who had just come out of the bathroom.

A little girl with a gun.

"Who are you guys?" was the question that came out of her mouth. "I know how to use this thing!" she yelled as she stepped back a bit. Tony looked at her with shock and then to Ziva who had taken out her badge and began to step forwards.

"We are NCIS, Naval Criminal Investigative Service."

"I know what it means," the young girl said as she gave Ziva the gun and out-stretched her hand, trying to stifle a laugh "I'm Kaylee." was all she had said to her.

* * *

Still with a look of surprise on their faces, Kaylee said, "So you got my call?"

"You were the one that called us? Where are your parents? Could we talk to them?"

"Yeah, actually I called about them. They disappeared." There was a sudden pause in the room when the two agents looked at the girl, wondering what could have happened.

"Do you know where they could have gone?" Ziva asked her coming closer, realizing something bad did go down.

"No. But I know who took them," she said with a bit of a smile and then she looked at Ziva and asked, "Can you help me get something in my dad's office? I was looking around and I found something you guys might need."

A strange look came across Ziva's face, but Kaylee was already waving her into the office. As she walked in, she saw the young girl had been looking through the office before her and Tony had arrived, it being half trashed and half perfectly neat.

"I found a safe while I was going through my dad's stuff. I guess there was a reason he kept the place trashed, but I need help getting into it." Kaylee looked at Ziva and smiled once again pointing to the top shelf. I need some help with it."

"Alright, Kaylee, we can bring it down and see if we can get into it."

Again, she let out a bit of a giggle. "I can open it easily, I just needed you to get it down for me. You looked stronger than him."

"How do you propose you do that?" Ziva asked as she lifted the safe down for the girl.

"Easy." She knelt down and said, "Wait you don't know how?"

"Of course I do."

"Well I can too."

Within minutes, Kaylee had the safe opened and got all of the papers out and in Ziva's hand.

"Amazing. How did you learn to do that?"

"My father taught me. Guess what else I can do?"

"What else could a girl your age possibly do?" Ziva questioned standing up and taking Kaylee's hand.

"You'd be surprised." She said as they walked out of the room and into the hallway.

* * *

While in the car, Tony could see how much Ziva had liked the girl, they spent the whole time arguing about who could reassemble a gun faster and who could throw a knife better.

Not knowing how to fit into the original conversation, Tony struck a new one, "So how did you crack the safe so fast?"

"I did." Kaylee said from the back seat a bit mad that Tony had completely underestimated her.

Tony shifted the mirror to the back seat where Kaylee sat, scowling at him as if she were the parent and he were the child.

"Did she really?" Tony asked Ziva, lowering the tone of his voice to a whisper. In return, Ziva let out a huge grin and looked at Kaylee in the mirror and saw she, too, was smiling as they pulled into the Navy Yard.

As they got out of the car, Kaylee took Ziva's hand, and she already knew where she was staying that night.

* * *

They all stepped into the elevator, and Ziva noticed that Kaylee was almost studying her and Tony.

Just as Ziva was about to say something, the elevator doors opened and the bullpen was right in front of them.

Ziva once again squeezed Kaylee's hand and guided the girl to her desk and explained to Gibbs how they got the evidence and Kaylee's parents had been kidnapped.

Kaylee sat at the desk and took out the papers from her backpack that she made that had all of the crucial evidence from the folder written in sections and all ready to look at. Kaylee stood up and tapped Ziva on the shoulder hesitantly.

As Ziva turned to Kaylee, she already began talking, "Um... I know I shouldn't have but I made a list of the important stuff in my notebook and I thought I should save you guys some time." Kaylee handed Ziva the notebook with flawless work that looks like it should have taken hours. "Sorry I know I shouldn't have... But is it gonna help?"

"I believe that you just saved us hours of combing through the folder. When did you find the time to make these papers?"

"There was like thirty minutes between here and my house, I just remembered everything and made the list in my head. I figured that it would be cool if I sort of let you guys see inside my head. I color coded it too just in case I thought it would be easier for you that way."

"I honestly don't know what to say. I think that you are smarter than me."

"Thanks, but I am far from it. So, can I ask you something?"

"I don't see why not."

"Um, I don't think you want to ask me in front or your boss." she said smiling.

"You can say whatever you want to Ziva right here." Gibbs announced, becoming a bit more intrigued by the mystery question.

"Um... never mind. I hate being the one who makes everything awkward. My mom said it's the one thing I do best."

"Alright you can ask me later."

* * *

After spending the day at the bullpen, Ziva had decided to take Kaylee home with her for the night.

"So what was that question you had for me earlier?"

"It's really none of my business."

"You can ask me whatever you want to, think of me as your confidant."

"Cool. Well, um... So... are you and Tony like together together?"

"What could you possibly mean by that?" Ziva questioned, being hit by yet another one of Kaylee's wrecking ball announcements.

"So you do like him. Can I give you a bit of a hint though? Don't widen your eyes when someone asks you a personal question like that. It's kind of like an automatic yes. Strike one."

"No it isn't like that at all we are just partners."

"So are you admitting you like him?"

"Are you going to keep doing this Kaylee?"

"Until you give me a real answer it's fairly obvious there's something between you two."

"Can you seriously just stop asking me can we choose a new subject please?"

"Wow avoiding the subject, strike two. You know my dad trained me in this stuff, right?"

"All I will say is he is more than the average partner. We are friends, nothing more, nothing less."

Ziva thought she had heard a bit of a laugh until she looked back to see that Kaylee was fast asleep. Sure she was finally asleep, Ziva paused for a moment and whispered, "Maybe." with a slight hint of a smile.

"Strike three." Kaylee mouthed.


	2. Waking Up to a Small Arsenal

**Still don't own anything. What a shock am I right?**

**Thanks for all of your reviews constructive criticism and thoughts about where my story should go are appreciated. On with the story now :D**

* * *

Around midnight, Kaylee awoke to see Ziva on the phone in the kitchen, quickly becoming curious. Just as she was about to get up and cure her suspicions of as to who she was talking to, she heard her name come up and immediately ducked under the covers, remembering that Ziva was a trained investigator and sneaking up and peering around the corner was of no use. She got this weird feeling Ziva would find her out and scare the crap out of her by sneaking up behind her. Kind of like that movie she watched with her dad on their movie nights the week before... So she just decided to eavesdrop on her like she did when her mom and dad were fighting.

"No!- Ziva paused and lowered her tone, and looked over to Kaylee making sure she hadn't woken her up. But what she didn't know was it was too late, Kaylee was awake and could hear every word she was whispering in secrecy -"No. She deserves better. We should just tell her what might happen. After this much time, the odds have almost tripled."

_"Why are they talking about me? Why am I so important? Oh my gosh... My mom and dad..." _were amongst the very few thoughts going through Kaylee's head right now besides food and Hitchcock.

"Tony... she, her parents are all she has left. I don't want her to... you know what I mean."

_"End up like you? Ziva, she'd be very lucky to turn out like you."_

Kaylee could have sworn she saw Ziva blush when Tony let out that remark, and her mind started to shift back to the conversation she and Ziva had on the car ride home and she, too, smiled a bit. _"I wonder if it's possible to get infinite strikes..."_

Those were the last sentences of that conversation that Kaylee got wind of before her eyes became heavy and she could no longer listen without her mind becoming clouded and drifting off elsewhere.

* * *

Kaylee opened her eyes to see that Ziva had fallen asleep on the love seat with the phone set sown on the table at the foot of the couch, which Kaylee was asleep on.

Believing she had a shot of not being noticed, she slowly inched down the couch towards the phone which was almost taunting her with all of the answers she desired. Her vision finally crystal clear, Kaylee reached for the phone and hit the on button. Within seconds, Kaylee saw that there was a password and let out a groan, then jumped realizing she had just woken up the world's best spy and immediately, turned it off and slipped under the covers.

"Ugh," Ziva groaned as she ran her fingers through her hair and almost drawing her gun before remembering Kaylee was on the couch. "Just like Tali..." she remarked looking over to Kaylee, thinking of her beloved little sister and her tragic fate.

For Ziva, she felt almost out of place saying Kaylee's name, but she stood up anyways and shook Kaylee a bit and said, "Kaylee? Are you awake yet?" After a few more times, she heard that familiar giggle and smiled a bit.

Kaylee turned around and said, "Oh, hey Ziva."

"Hey."

"What time is it?" Kaylee asked, pretending to not know anything about last night or the fact she saw the clock on Ziva's phone and knew it was exactly

"Six thirty eight."

"Oh! I really have to get ready I guess, sorry I held you behind." She echoed through the hallway heading towards what looked like the bathroom. As she turned in her eyes widened and she let out a clueless, "Ummm... Ziva?"

"Yes-" she paused for a moment, almost calling her Tali.

"Awesome." What Kaylee had just come upon was Ziva's 'hidden' arsenal of weapons. "You're like Mullins from The Heat!"

"Who?" Ziva asked her, clueless on the subject.

"Come on! Don't tell me you've never seen the movie The Heat!"

"Oh... Another Tony." Ziva remarked as she rolled her eyes and looked up at her ceiling, thinking about the conversation she had on the phone the night before.

"Another Tony?"

"Never-mind, just get dressed."

"Kay." Kaylee replied with a bit of spice and that now hauntingly familiar laugh that was starting to sound more and more like the echoing laugh of Tali inside her head.

* * *

After Kaylee and Ziva had gotten ready, they had gone off to do what they do best, at the one and only NCIS, but on the way Ziva had let some things slide that she probably shouldn't have.

"So what you talking about on the phone last night?" Kaylee questioned while thoroughly getting a good laugh at Ziva's reaction, her eyes almost screaming she was guilty. "I mean, it's obvious it was Tony, you were blushing the entire time, but then you started to talk about me and then I got curious. So, what about me is so important you two would stop your entire awkward conversation?"

"I- I... I do not know what you are implying young miss, but it is not ethical to your situation."

"I believe you are pulling... what was it, strike two or strike three from last night."

"I cannot believe you are still hooked on this. I'd say something if the right situation came up. Not that there is anything to say." Ziva stuttered, trying to make sure to leave a bit of net for the next Kaylee trip-up-question.

"Whatever."

"Thank you."

"Wait, you actually never heard of sarcasm have you?"

"Just drop it Tali!"

"What is that some kind of Hebrew word? Cool."

"What word?"

"You just said 'Tali'. What does that mean?"

Ziva paused a minute and glanced out the window for a second, not realizing the word that had just come at the end of her sentence, "Oh. Forget that we ever had this conversation."

Seeing as she had hit a personal spot, she pulled back and reviewed the information she had. She knew Ziva was talking about her and her parents, she knew that Ziva liked Tony, Tony likes Ziva, and 'Tali', whatever that meant.

* * *

"I hate this elevator."

"Kaylee, how can you possibly hate an elevator?"

"Gibbs has his secret conferences in here it's so annoying."

"Huh. I guess I never thought about it that way."

The elevator doors ticked open and Kaylee stepped out and stopped in her tracks as Tony was right in her way. "Well this just got awkward for you didn't it Ziva?"

"Hello Tony." Ziva said, trying to prove a point to Kaylee by brushing right past him.

Realizing she was about to get a brutal ass- kicking from Ziva, Kaylee changed the subject. "So you guys really have your ow forensic science lab and morgue like in NCIS?"

Catching on to what Kaylee was trying to do, Tony quickly answered, "Yeah. I could take you on a tour."

"Awesome! just please don't turn this into a Night at the Museum type thing."

"What?" Ziva asked once again clueless at the movie reference.

"You know, Ben Stiller, Ricky Gervais, Owen Wilson, Robin Williams? Directed by the one and only Shawn Levy. Do you even watch movies other than like, The Sound of Music?"

"I'm impressed." Tony cut in, finally finding something in common with Kaylee.

"Thanks, you're not too shabby yourself considering how you were almost going to get a new high score at your movie game, until you got the easiest movie question in history wrong.

"Wha?" Tony looked over at his computer screen to see that he had said Delorian DMC-12 instead of DeLorean DMC-12.

Ziva and Kaylee both let out smug laughs and Tony just forgot about it and moved on, seeing show he could not win.

"So Kaylee, do you want me to show you around now?"

"Sure. Ziva don't you have to like sing that song My Favorite Things or whatever that dumb mistaken string of words was called?"

Tony put out his hand and Kaylee slapped it as hard as she could like she did when her dad would ask her for a high- five.

"So has Ziva ever seen a movie that doesn't completely BLOW?"

"I don't know it seems unlikely though. But anyways, I think you should really meet Abby."

"Is she the coroner or the forensic scientist?"

"She's the forensic scientist, but I do want to warn you- he said as they stepped onto the elevator- she's goth."

"How is that a warning? Awesome!"

* * *

**So I was thinking that Kaylee should say something to Abby about Tony and Ziva and Abby should be like, "I'm so glad you said that..." Any ****suggestions on what she may have to show Kaylee or what she may say? Hmmmm... (I am stroking my invisible beard right now) :) Plz like, favorite, or follow to read more! Hearing what you guys have to say makes me smile!**


	3. The Look Alike

**Sorry about the delay I was moving foster homes and I found this awesome Internet café and this chapter is going to be much longer I promise! So, apology accepted?**

**Disclaimer: Just taking the NCIS characters on a walk in the park, I will return them soon.**

**So this is what I am starting to hear... and I quote from a guest who visited this page, "Who is Kaylee? Whats her age? Background? Why are her parents missing? I'm not interested in the story b/c I have no reason to care about the main character. Good ideas but what is the plot and conflict of the story to be resolved? I need more."**

**So in this chapter, I will answer these questions. If there is anything else people would like me to add about backgrounds or IDEAS PLEASE SHARE!**

**Xox**

"So, did you guys find anything more out on my parents?" Kaylee questioned, bringing herself down a bit by asking, the situation had seemed to hit her harder in the morning light. Her parents were gone, and no way out. She had to solve a relationship problem between two _blind _soul mates, get a big hearted yet closed off Gibbs to open up to her, all while having to be stuck with an escort, preferably Tony, at all time. _Dammit! _No snooping with him around, but at least she could ask questions, Ziva just plain denied it. But there was one thing about Ziva she thought made it hard to decide who to snoop with around, Ziva was an open book if you said the word 'Tony'.

"No, but we're working on it. I promise, we're going to find your mom and dad. It would help if you could tell us a bit about them though. If we could see into their situation a bit more, maybe we could pinpoint where they would've taken them or why they were taken to begin with."

"Well, I have a picture of the two of them together if that would help... And I might know why they were kidnapped. I mean, my mom does top-secret work and so does my dad. My mom said they got to go to a bunch of different countries, and my dad said he was even taken hostage before in Baghdad. They always work together, one time I got to go with them to Paris, but all they did was work."

Tony's mind drifted off a bit thinking about going to Paris with Ziva and what had happened... "Paris..."as soon as he realized he had just completely zoned out, he was met by Kaylee's confused look, "-So why do you think you parents were...?" He trailed off not wanting to let Kaylee's memories shut her down.

"What's so special about Paris? I saw how you zoned out. I'm not gonna tell you anything until you tell me. I mean it is the 'City of Love' right?"

Tony was completely blind-sided by Kaylee's Ziva-Mossad-Agent quick pick up, and struggled to come up with an excuse, "Ziva and I completed our biggest case there, just basking in the glory once more."

"Ziva?" Kaylee said, (practically screamed), hitting the stop elevator button- "I saw Gibbs do it yesterday. Okay, if I tell you about my mom and dad, will you tell me about Paris later?"

"Deal." Tony agreed knowing well that later would mean pushing it back until oblivion.

"Sweet. So... a few days before that, my mom and dad both started acting weird, they wouldn't even let me go to my friend's house."

"Is she the only person's house you couldn't go to? It could have had to do with her. Do you know if your parents work with her parents?" Tony launched multiple questions at her all at once, wanting to confuse her into spit balling information. Unfortunately, he got the complete opposite.

"IDK, but I wanna meet Abby." Kaylee said as she hit the button again just to continue the string of awkward pauses. She slightly turned her head and caught a confused Tony staring at her in wonderment, then finally caught onto what he was so confused about. When Kaylee heard the ping of the elevator and stepped out she said, "IDK means I don't know in case you're wondering. But of course you're too cool to not know the meaning, right?" She smirked as she turned the corner and then Tony stood there for a second anticipating it.

Kaylee back-tracked and turned towards him quickly, realizing she forgot to ask a very important question. "Where am I even going?"

Tony was now the one with the slight curl on the end of his lips as he pointed to the room a few paces from where she was standing that was emitting music that filled up the hallways and crawled up Kaylee's spine. "Oh. There. I knew that."

**Xox**

With Gibbs-like stealth, Kaylee crept into Abby's lab and sat on the school next to her and scared the crap out of her as the forensic scientist turned her way. "Oh my God!"

"Hello Abby."

She stood confused for a moment, and then her lips curled in as she opened her mouth to a wide and surprised look, "Ooh the infamous Kaylee?" Abby, always a hugger, reached out and squeezed her practically to death.

"Nice music!" Kaylee was almost screaming now as the techno music hit the chorus.

"Thank you," she paused for a minute, not having the right words to continue, "so..." she began awkwardly, "I heard about your parents, but I have good news. I'm on the case and I swear I am going to find them if it's the last thing I do."

Kaylee sat there for a minute re-thinking her parent's situation and just letting the memories flood back to her once again. She took a shaky breath in and attempted to hide her fear of the situation because Abby was only trying to do a good thing, "Thank you. But can I ask you a question, why is my profile on the screen?"

"Oh." Abby turned towards the screen and looked at the profile she had just pulled up, "If you'd like to, you could do the introduction to our psych evaluation guy yourself."

"Awesome, but can I stay here a bit longer? Please?" Kaylee made the puppy dog eyes to Abby while dragging out her please into a begging tone and she couldn't resist. Abby grabbed the remote to the techno and turned it up all the way, immediately getting a huge smile from Kaylee.

"So what's the story with..." Kaylee stopped for a second, trying to think about a ship name for Tony and Ziva-"the whole Tiva thing?"

"Wait do you mean?" the scientist's lower part of her face broke out into a devious smile, where her eyes had a childish glint to them that seemed to be filled with wonder and love. Of course that's what she had meant how many other things could be called Tiva? Turkey and... no. She meant Tony and Ziva, the young sleuth had seen it all first hand, had watched hours of interaction and communication between the two. "Tony and-"

Too late for Abby to make a final realization, the little ball of energy had cut her off with one word to spare and started asking numerous questions about them ranging from if they were together to if they had some kind of pre-existing bond. Bottom line, this girl was onto it, she saw it all.

Well, Abby had seen it too. She had been in there when it felt as if you walked in on them having some weird personal moment. Tony and Ziva had an odd connection, one nonetheless they should relish and take care of until the end of time. They were something special alright. The both of them, Abby and Kaylee, knew that Tony and Ziva one, took almost no effort to hide their flirting, but denied it when you dangled it in front of them in an attempt to get them to openly realize it. If you weren't Abby of Kaylee, you would see it as nonsense and believe they both meant a trivial type of flirting. No. They were people who when they showed emotion, actual emotion, it was real. They had secret underlying meaning when they made fun of the fact that the other got stood up on a date or something else that sparked emotion in the other. Meaning, intent. Two, they saw each other for who they were. Plain and clear as day, each of them saw it like it was. If one was sad, snap! Chain reaction, both were off their game and worried about the other. Same when they were mad, or overly-excited, or anything else, they knew what was up with each other. And of course, three, they were in pure, hilariously denied yet undeniable love. Although it sounds like that may be the most obvious sounding one when you say it aloud, it is in fact the most over looked detail.

They denied it every second of the day, slowly but surely causing each and every person around them to deny it as well. Of course, all this was easier to see if you weren't always chasing after a trigger-happy senior field agent who claimed love is futile and devours your will to care for people. "Not that Gibbs is the enemy in everything, but he tells them they can't. Ziva said something about a rule when we were talking last night, which, first of all, is _ridiculous_. Considering how painfully obvious it is that they need to let off some steam at some point. Personally, when they finally forget about that rule, Gibbs will probably be all," Kaylee paused to alternate her stance and emasculate her arms and set them firmly on her hips, adding a final touch of a slightly furrowed eyebrow and a grumble to give the effect of Gibbs' voice, _"it's about time." _ _  
_

As soon as Abby was pretty much sure that she was finished with her long explanation, she quickly dove into it and disregarded all of her work to engage in a conversation with someone who finally understood. Someone who could see it, of course she talked to McGee and Ducky about it before, but they're guys for one thing, what do they know about love? And somehow they always looked at the bad part of it all and Ducky always found a way to get off topic. It was so easy with Kaylee. She wasn't damaged goods, someone already broken by the mere fact of life and the secrecy and sadness of it all. Her eyes were always filled with wonderment, as if she expected Tony walk in and proclaim his love for all of the world to see.

Nope, that was never going to happen, she had to go to the big guy in charge, Gibbs. She had talk talk sense into him, get him to see it as it is. Of course, it was obvious he saw it, but he needed to see it like Kaylee. Like someone who just walked into everything, all of this, and could see it so easy. If it was that easy to spot, hell, when's the wedding? What she meant was, she explained it to herself, trying to put it in words to make her meddling in love more, justified, she assured. They were going to end up together, kiss each other, make a huge move one day, and she would never forgive herself if it wasn't because of her efforts to get them together. They deserved each other and she was just, taking it upon herself to get that message cross to them. Strained or not, they had to know what the people around them see, what it really is. Nothing is ever as it seems to the people who are the deepest in the hole. They look up and see darkness with a pinhole sky far off. What she saw, considering her hole wasn't as deep and her hold on the situation was more understood, was two people in love who have no one to finally tell them that it was okay to take that step. They had to get used to the process.

"I know! And it's like they all avoid it right?"

"Yeah! They just work like normal and then they go all..." she paused for a minute to figure out how to describe the two's interactions. They obviously loved each other, but no one cared enough to point it out, except the people on the sidelines, so nobody's really bothered to put a label on the thing. Instead, Kaylee let out an over-exaggerated shudder and Abby got the message loud and clear.

"Hold on. I don't want to say this with the door open." Kaylee gave her a funny look and Abby replied, "It's Gibbs related and I really don't want to say anything too loud." The usual peppy cheerleader labby reached for the door and the secrecy it provided, and surprisingly, it couldn't be closed. She inspected to find a tall, masculine man blocking the door with his foot jammed against it.

"Can't say what about me?" it was of course, the almighty Gibbs standing in front of her, dangling a Caf-Pow knowingly. But Abby couldn't give in, she spun around to see Kaylee was nowhere in sight. She immediately saw the lab sliding doors closed with a paper magazine jammed into the gears. Standing right there, something dawned on the scientist, Kaylee didn't want to go. She figured that Gibbs had come for her and hid to stay in the lab with Abby. She walked over cautiously, after being assured of it with a nod from Gibbs, and knocked on the doors, "It's okay, he's not here for you."

She slowly peered her head around the corner, looking at Gibbs. He was staring at the screen, eyes glued to the file that Abby hadn't yet taken off the plasma, and it had just dawned on him. Kaylee looked exactly like... _Kelly._

**Xox**

_"Daddy! Daddy!" the young girl was screaming and shrieking and laughing at the same time heading around the left side of the house and into the shrubs._

_"Two, three, four..." Gunnery Sergeant Leroy Jethro Gibbs was playing hide-and-seek with his daughter. They had been spending the entire day together, and it was two hours before his deployment to the Marine base to Operation Desert Storm. They were eating and playing and laughing the entire day and they didn't want to leave each other's company._

_"You'll never catch me!" she was still using her clearly elated tone as she made a small giggling sound, sliding into the bushes. She knew that her dad had heard her tip-toeing, he was a star Marine. Of course she was proud of her father, he served his country well and always came home to her. _

_'I do it for you', that's what he had told her when she had asked him after returning from his first deployment after she was born._

_"Seven, eight, nine..." he paused for a minute, realizing that she was still sliding into her hiding place with the slight rustling sound coming from her secret spot. "Nine and one-quarter, nine and two-quarters, nine and three-quarters, and ten. I'm coming for you, jellybean!" Gibbs turned around to face completely the other way from his daughter, playing it as if he had no idea where she was. He bent down into a squatting position and putting both hands on his hips. He put one hand resting on his eyebrows and squinted, turning on his heels looking Kelly straight in the eyes. She omitted a high pitched shriek as he charged right at her._

_He picked her up and twirled her around over his head, his strong arms gripping her sides with a rare, gentle touch. "Gotcha!"_

_"Do you have to go this time?" Kelly pulled up this question more than a few times in the past week._

_A more serious look appeared on his face as he set her down gently on the brick step and sitting down next to her with a large intake of breath._

_"I always have to serve my country, sweetheart. I don't really have a choice when or where I get deployed." he gave her a wide grin and apologetic eyes as she leaned into him, bringing her eyes up to an approaching Shannon who gladly joined the hug._

_"They're here, Gibbs, you have to get ready." she was carrying his backpack on her shoulders as she slung it around his and placed a kiss on his head._

_Knowing he had to go, he sang one final song to his daughter that she absolutely loved no matter what. He would sing it before he left for deployment each time, and Kelly had promised she would sing it at his funeral. He began in a lower tone, nudging Shannon to join in as he was starting his line, "Hush little baby don't say a word, daddy's gonna buy you a mockingbird. And if that mockingbird don't sing, daddy's gonna buy you a diamond ring." _

_A million-watt smile spread across her face as he began to sing to her."Horsie!" _

_He smiled along with her, but continued on with the original lyrics and let his smile get bigger every word her let out of his mouth, "And if that diamond ring turns brass, daddy's gonna buy you a looking glass. And if that looking glass gets broke, daddy's gonna buy you a billy-goat. If that billy-goat won't pull, daddy's gonna buy you a cart and bull. If that cart and bull turn over, daddy's gonna buy you a dog named Rover." _

_He stood up and began to walk towards the driveway, grabbing one hand of each of his girls, Shannon on his right, Kelly on his left. "And if that dog named Rover won't bark, daddy's gonna buy you a horse and cart. And if that horse and cart fall down," he stopped, letting go of their hands and fully turning towards the both of them. "You'll still be the sweetest little baby in town."  
_

_As he began to slowly back towards the truck, he face fell with each step, the smile leaving as fast as it had appeared. Kelly had had it with the leaving, but knew he did it for a good reason, but she nonetheless, tried one more plead for happiness. After all, she was only eight, "Daddy! Daddy! Please don't go!" the tears began to pour out of her eyes as he tried to crack a smile, but his heart wasn't in it. He reached out for one last hug and an 'I love you' as he hopped in the back of the truck. The tears still pouring out..._

**Xox**

He remembers the last time he saw them, the last time he said 'I love you' to anyone in the flesh. Of course, with his luck, Kaylee was basically a replica of Kelly, down to the names starting with a _K. __Really, of 25 other letters to choose from, her parents had to choose_ that one_?_ She had the same hair, and those same eyes that you could get lost in. Not quite the same as Kelly's, but the same eyes that seemed to pull you in. Yes, she had more freckles that Kelly, but everything seemed to remind him of her. It just seemed like a sign, to him, an eight-year-old girl who reminded him of what he loved and that he can still love.

"Kelly." he said almost inaudibly, but enough that Abby jolted her head in his direction and immediately looked back at Kaylee, studying her.

"Kelly?" Abby questioned at her colleague as she looked at him with a slightly tilted head. "Kelly. Oh, Gibbs." Abby ran up to him on her tip-toes and stretched her arms out and wrapped them around him, Gibbs staring blankly at Kaylee. February 23, five days before Kelly had died. "Gibbs..."

"I... I'm sorry..." Kaylee trailed off, not know what to say.

"No, no, it's okay." Abby walked over to Kaylee and whispered, "It's just a hard time for him." Kaylee responded with a nod, realizing that Gibbs really deserved the quiet environment with whatever he was going through that seemed to break him out of character.

"Come on, you need to try a Caf-Pow, they're amazing! Then we can go meet Ducky."

"Alright", she agreed, following her to the threshold of the room, but turning to look at Gibbs. She couldn't help it, she ran over to him and hugged him tight, receiving and slight chuckle from him. "I'm sorry." she said as she looked into his eyes. They were different from the last time she had looked him in the eye, almost hurt. But a flash of hope seemed to sprint through them as Kaylee gave a huge smile before turning and walking away.

**Xox**

Once they were finally standing in the elevator, Abby broke the awkward silence with an, "It's not your fault."

"So what was that about, anyways?" she had a look in her eyes now that seemed hurt, like there was something else she needed to fix. She had avoided Abby's statement, clearly she had seen Gibbs, seen the change in character.

"23 years ago, Gibbs was deployed to a mission, and he had to leave his wife, Shannon, and his daughter-"

"Kelly." the young girl cut her off, receiving a nod from the scientist in confirmation.

Abby continued, "During his deployment, Shannon was going to testify against a drug dealer, but on her way to testify, her escort was shot, and both her and Kelly died in the crash. Around the same time, Gibbs had managed to land himself in a coma. He was in it for seventeen days, and when he woke up, both his wife and his daughter were already killed." Abby knew it was a lot to tell an eight-year-old girl, but she also knew it was how Kaylee lived day-by-day. And by the middle of the story, she was more telling it for her sake than Kaylee's.

"Such a short story for such a terrible thing, you know? Like the guy doesn't even get a legible paragraph and his life slipped out of his hands."

"Well you have to seize the moment I guess, before it all get taken away.", and Abby made a valid point.

"I think it's more like the moment seizes you, ya know? Like, so many different variables to life, you can never let yourself chose when to truly let the moment seize you."

"Yeah." the labby's words were well below a whisper, almost astonished at how Kaylee saw the story. She had never really thought about it in that sense before...

"Yeah."

**Xox**

**So, let me know what you're thinking, I thought I'd throw in a bit of Gibbs. Sorry if he seems a bit OOC, it was hard to capture him too happy or too sad, so I apologize if you were like _Pft! _when you were reading. Like I said, reviews? _Constructive_ criticism?**

***_Muah!_***

**And on a completely unrelated note... did anybody else see the new NCIS: LA episode tonight, "Humbug?" Whoop! Whoop! Densi all the way! **

**My utmost _love,_**

**foxy209**


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